nswer:  Deciding to write a continuing character was a difficult decision. I reminded myself how I feel when a book comes to an end, however, particularly one I enjoyed. It’s like losing a friend or family member. You learn everything about the lead character, cheer for her when she battles adversity, cry when she hurts, and rejoice when she’s victorious. Then the book is over and she disappears. I like Carolyn too much to let that happen.

Carolyn is unique in that I patterned her after myself, using my real life experience as a probation officer. I wore short skirts and smiled at rapists and murderers, just as Carolyn does in the book. It was a small price to pay, particularly when the victim was a child. The offenders frequently made statements that could be used to increase their term of imprisonment. Most people don’t know what a probation officer’s duties entail. They confuse us with social workers, or assume we only supervise offenders. Investigative probation officers are a vital part of the criminal justice system. The law mandates a report on every felony. These reports, sometimes up to thirty pages long, have enormous impact at sentencing. It was rare for a judge not to follow my recommendations. On sex crimes, the sentence could vary from four to fifty years. When an innocent child had been sexually violated or physically tortured, I found recommending a fifty-year sentence quite gratifying.
 
Probation officers are “unsung” heroes. Carolyn is a dedicated probation officer as well as courageous woman and devoted mother. To obtain justice, she’s willing to place both her life and her career on the line. Since I walked in the same shoes as Carolyn, I feel comfortable writing about her
Question:  Daniel Metroix is an incredibly sympathetic and well-developed character. Is he based on someone you worked with during your years as a probations officer?

nswer: I handled a number of individuals who resembled Daniel, people who had been pushed along through the system. One young man was mentally disabled, his IQ in the low fifties. (Seventy or below is considered retarded.) His family had adopted what was referred to as a “tough love” policy and forced him to live on the street. With his mental limitations, the world was overwhelming and terrifying. He had no way to support himself, no place to stay, no food to eat. He broke into a church one night for food and shelter. In his desperation, he’d broken into other places, but had never taken anything other than a small amount of food. We had only a few shelters then and they were consistently full.

After the district attorney convicted this man of burglary .I was assigned the pre-sentence investigation. I was appalled. Each prior burglary added five years to his term, which is technically referred to as an enhancement. Now he was facing a twenty-year stint in prison where he would be warehoused with hardened criminals. During his past incarcerations and prosecutions, no one had taken the time to find out that this young man possessed the mental capabilities of a young child. I felt the entire system was responsible for gross acts of injustice, and went after the DA who had prosecuted him. His conviction was overturned and instead of going to prison for twenty-years, he was provided with state benefits and placed in a supervised group home. As much satisfaction as I received when recommending a lengthy prison term for a violent offender, I felt even more gratified to be able to right such a terrible wrong. Many professionals in the criminal justice system become indifferent. Carolyn Sullivan has the type of unique attributes that I would like to see in every person within the justice system. Somehow even the word, JUSTICE, has lost its meaning. I can’t change real life, but I can showcase the problems in fiction.

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